


Controversial Presidential Pardons

by westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist



Category: The West Wing
Genre: Episode Tag, Episode: s02e03 The Midterms, F/M, First Time, Friendship, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2001-04-07
Updated: 2001-04-07
Packaged: 2019-05-30 13:38:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,091
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15097775
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist/pseuds/westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist
Summary: CJ and Danny must make the first step, deal with the fears and handle the conflict of their jobs, all so they can be together.





	Controversial Presidential Pardons

**Author's Note:**

> A copy of this work was once archived at National Library, a part of the [ West Wing Fanfiction Central](https://fanlore.org/wiki/West_Wing_Fanfiction_Central), a West Wing fanfiction archive. More information about the Open Doors approved archive move can be found in the [announcement post](http://archiveofourown.org/admin_posts/8325).

Title: The CJ and Danny Chronicles Part I: Controversial Presidential Pardons  
Author: Loquita  
Rating: PG-13  
Category: CJ/Danny  
Summary: CJ and Danny must make the first step, deal with their fears, and handle the conflict of their jobs, all so they can be together.  
Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to The West Wing or to any of the characters, richer people than me own those rights. I have no desire to make money from this. I only hope that others find some enjoyment from my story, which is payment enough. 

The CJ and Danny Chronicles Part I: Controversial Presidential Pardons  


The sun doused CJ Cregg's office, the June day was clear and she gazed out the window wishing she could be lying on a beach. Instead, she was dealing with a Police beating in New York, the President in Panama with his wife, and Carol being out because her sister went into labor last night. 

"Hey, Danny." She greeted the White House reporter as he entered her office. "Something I can do for you?" She swung her feet off of her desk and put down the file she was supposed to be reading. 

"Yeah, there's a lot of things you could do for me." He suggested and CJ rolled her eyes. "I want to talk." 

"Okay." CJ agreed. 

"About us." 

"Oh." 

"I think there are some unresolved issues-" He started but she cut him off. 

"No, there aren't. I said no more grabbin' and kissin' and I meant it. It is wrong for us to even appear unprofessional." 

"See, I don't think it would be unprofessional for us to date." He said as he stepped closer to her and deliberately stared at her lips. 

"I don't agree, so..." CJ shrugged. 

"This is what I think we should talk about." He said. 

"Are you insane, we just did." 

"I didn't really have my best debate cap on. I could win if I had my cap on. Tonight, Harpoon's at 8 PM, back wall furthest booth from the jukebox." He moved to the door. 

"I haven't said if I'd go." She pointed out. 

"You'll go." 

"Danny, I swear to God, if you show up with some goofy hat on..." She warned as he left her office. 

At 4 PM, CJ left the White House for an hour to visit Josh in the hospital. It had been almost 4 weeks since the shooting and the rehabilitation was slow. Josh had been getting annoyed lately with his inability to even walk without being winded or in pain. Today, Sam informed her that Josh walked around his part of the Hospital wing. 

"Hey." She said while entering his room. He turned at the sound of her voice. 

"Hey yourself." He responded. She sat in a chair next to his bed and handed him a plastic bag. He peered inside. 

"ESPN magazine and Gumi bears. CJ, you spoil me." He closed the bad and put it on the table next to his bed. "Thanks." 

"It's a present for walking around the hall today." She explained. 

"Yep. Aren't you proud?" Josh flashed her a smile. "What's up? How's things in the West Wing? How in the world are you surviving without me?" 

"Barely." She teased. He played with a string pulling from the edge of his blanket as she rambled on. "Nothing important is happening right now, you're not missing much. The President's out of the country so I've actually been getting home before late night TV is over." He laughed. "That and Danny's been annoying me. As usual." She added. 

"Annoying you how?" 

"You know, he wants to talk. It's nothing." CJ tried to change the subject. "The junior senator from New York is demanding a Federal investigation of New York City officials to see if they're racist." 

"Maybe you should talk with him." 

"The junior senator from New York?" 

"No. Danny." Josh answered. "I always thought he would be good for you." CJ reacted with a loud sigh. "Really, CJ, I think it's worth a chance. Imagine if he were dead tomorrow-" 

"Josh, don't start." CJ warned. She was worried, lately he had been thinking this way and asking people 'what if' questions that usually involved sudden death. 

"Listen. I have been thinking about this because of what happened but that doesn't..." He stopped and changed the direction of his comment, "Here's my advice, go for it." 

"Suddenly you're a Nike ad." 

"You don't really know if it's right or wrong, good or bad, unless you give him a chance. Then when you decide if you want to be with him or not, at least it's an informed decision. No regrets, CJ, it's my new philosophy. Try everything at least once." CJ tried to hold it back but she couldn't help it, she laughed. 

"Thanks, Josh. I'll be sure to explain to Danny that he gets one night with me because you think I should try everything once. Then I'll move through all of the Press Corps, followed by the entire White House staff. It sounds like you've been watching too much daytime TV." 

"Fine, OK, do things your way. But just think about if you know for sure what you are deciding." Josh's eyes were getting heavy. Simple things like a long discussion wore him out and CJ took it as an indication that she should let him sleep. 

"Thanks for the advice, Joshua, get some sleep and I'll visit soon." CJ stood and kissed his forehead as he closed his eyes. 

"Kay." He said. 

CJ returned to the White House and immediately went to her briefing. The room was pretty thin because where the President goes, half her pressroom goes. The other half were left this trip covering trivial things happening in the President's absence. CJ wondered why Danny was here instead of Panama. Being a senior corespondent he usually got to go to the cool places to cover the President for his paper and the junior corespondent stayed home. 'Hmm, interesting.' CJ thought as she stepped to the podium.  


By 7 PM she put the lid on and sat in her office going over notes on Iraq Army movements near the Saudi boarder. Carol had called to say she would be coming in tomorrow, her sister had a girl. CJ didn't want to admit how the day actually went smoothly without her. 

At 7:45 PM, CJ finished her work for the day and looked at the clock. 'Should I, shouldn't I?' She considered. It sounded too much like the infamous saying 'damned if I do, damned if I don't.' 

"Yep," she said out loud to her empty office, "that pretty much covers it." Josh's words of advice entered her mind. How did she know she was making the right decision if she really had little to base that decision on? Her only reason not to see him seemed to be because of their jobs. She had better reasons to want to go out with him, his wit, his smile, his intelligence, his understanding and kindness. What she needed was more...personal reasons why it wouldn't work between them. 

She could give him his "chance" like Josh said. She could talk with him and get to know him better and then it would help convince her the decision not to date him was the right one. 'Danny can't possibly be that charming and sweet all the time. Maybe he'll see that I'm wrong for him too.' Convinced she was meeting Danny for purely innocent, proper reasons, she grabbed her keys and left her office. 

She drove the short 10 minutes to a pub called Harpoon's. It was old, dim, and had a bad version of '10,000 Leagues Under the Sea' theme inside. She found a booth in the right place with curly, red hair visible just above the high wood back. As she approached, she saw a beer and a blue Mets hat on the table in front of Danny. 

"That's you're debate cap?" She shook her head and sat down across from him, "You really can't do any better than that?" 

"Not on short notice. I had briefings to attend all day, they drown on and on." He was smiling so she knew he was teasing. 

She warned him anyway, "Hey, watch it. You know, I've been meaning to ask you -" The waiter's arrival to take her drink order cut her off. She ordered a Grasshopper, Danny suggested an appetizer but she said no. She didn't want this to turn into a date. 

"You've been meaning to ask me something?" He asked once the waiter left their table. 

"Yea. Why aren't you in Panama?" 

"Thanks for the disappoint that I'm not out of the country right now." He said in a dry tone. "I don't know, Mitch wanted to go, I wanted to stay, so it worked out that way." He shrugged and watched his beer as it swirled in the glass. 

"Did you stay for some important reason, working on a story?" CJ tried. 

"Yep." He took a sip. "It's called 'There's a woman I know playing hard to get.'" There was no getting around an issue with Danny, he was a reporter even when he wasn't working. The waiter brought her drink. 

"I am NOT playing hard to get." She said flatly and sampled her drink. "I don't want you to have the wrong idea about tonight. I haven't changed my mind. I still think it's a bad idea for us to date no matter how nice it might be. But I feel there is no reason I can't get to know you better, so that's all this is." 

"You think it would be 'nice'?" 

"Danny." She warned while cursing herself for letting that slip out. 

"OK." Danny replied. 

"So... Tell me about why you choose to be a journalist?" CJ took another sip as he began to talk. He told her about college. He started as a Biology major intending to be a vet but he failed Chemistry and loved the Intro to Writing class he took. Plus, a cute girl sat next to him. She raised her eyebrow at him but continued to listen. He explained how in Dallas he met his idol, a former White House correspondent who afterwards became editor of the paper there. He taught Danny all about following stories and writing for the common reader. 

"Those times in Dallas where important to me. Anyway, tell me about deciding to be a press secretary?" She finished her drink, Danny signaled the waiter and ordered another round. 

She told him about being a PR major in college so she had time to go to her boyfriend's rock band every night. He convinced her to dye her hair pink. His eyes went wide at that. 

"Oh, that shocks you? That's nothing." She admitted. The second round of drinks arrived and they exchanged most outrageous and most embarrassing moments. He had CJ laughing at the time he forgot his pants in the laundry and ran from his hotel room to meet the Ambassador of Mexico for an interview. She told him about the time she backed her boyfriend's car into a lake and then asked him to take her to the prom. 

"Did he take you?" Danny asked. 

"No, are you kidding? It was a Porsche, he broke up with me." 

"Oh, that's horrible." Danny admitted. "Wait, I got a better one..." Soon he had her laughing more and they were both having a third drink. She found out he also liked blues music. He discovered she also loved to read spy novels and they both thought 'When Harry Met Sally' was a great movie. 

She had a cat named Cleo, he had a mother who loved cats and so he had four growing up. "All four liked to sleep in my bed. By the age of 10, I was big enough that there was no room in the bed for me." 

Danny told her about his older brother dying in a car crash when he was 13. The waiter brought a fourth drink for them. She told him about her sister becoming pregnant in college. CJ drove her to the clinic where she had an abortion. He told her about getting his heart broken, then never being able to completely trust the women he dated after that. 

"You intimidate me." He confessed. 

"Why?" 

"Because you are everything I would ever hope for. I told myself that you were too special to let pass without a fight. Boy, did I pick the one woman who could put up a fight!" He chucked and took the last sip of his beer. 

By now, the alcohol was working in CJ's veins and was making her think and talk in ways she would usually restrain herself from. It was the only circumstance in which she could admit, "Well, I want to tell you something. You are the sweetest, most charming man I know. Any woman would be lucky to have you." 

"Thanks." 

The waiter came over to their table and took the empty glasses in front of them. 

"Bring the check and call us a cab?" He asked the waiter. 

"You know, it's not just the work thing." In a quiet voice CJ admitted, "I'm used to always being in control. With you I...God, even being in the room with you throws me off balance. And your so, your so in control that it gets me....you really irritate me sometimes Danny." 

The waited came back with the check. As they got up to leave, CJ couldn't walk with coordination. She giggled when he held her up all the way out to the waiting cab. When they reached her place, he took her up to her apartment to get her inside. 

"Danny?" She turned the lights on. 

"Hmm?" He answered, trying to get her keys out of the lock. He was still distracted by what she told him tonight. CJ, on the other hand, having admitted everything in her heart to Danny, now felt light and giddy. Also, a little drunk. 

"Com're." She grabbed his shirt and yanked him toward her. She kissed him hard on the lips and put her arms around his waist. 

"CJ." He tried to say with her mouth still on his. She had her hands on his butt and was causing some of his lower body to come alive. He was a man and she was a beautiful woman that he did have a thing for. 

"CJ, I'm flattered, but you're drunk and I should have been thinking but I was caught up in our conversation and I was only drinking beer while you were drinking liquor so I didn't even think that it was hitting you harder-" She used her fingers to make teasing circles over the fly of his pants, that stopped his rambling. She giggled and said, "Come on. I want to show you my room." Danny took three deep breaths and forced himself to think of ice cubes and snow and cold, cold, cold. 

"CJ, I've really got to go." He went out the door, back down to the waiting cab and told the driver to speed to his apartment before he took another breath. 

That night Danny lay in his bed with his head stuffed into a pillow. It was the hardest decision of his life, he had wanted to stay with her but knew he shouldn't. There were many things he now understood about her after tonight. And a few that had his mind turning in circles. 

The next morning, CJ was late to work, nursing a stomach that was on a Tilt-a-Whirl ride. She remembered every detail very clearly and wasn't the least embarrassed about her behavior. But, she was mad at Danny's behavior. Mad at a man who had hit on her for months, kissed her several times, asked her out at least 73 times, and when she finally gave in last night, he left her cold. She felt stupid and most likely the brunt of some joke or pay-off for a bet in the pressroom right now. Carol was showing her pictures of the new baby and she tried sounding interested. 

"She is the cutest baby ever." CJ told Carol and left her office for morning staff. The day went forward dully. She called Josh at lunch and he spouted all sorts of weird statistics from the magazine she'd brought him, like Notre Dame's record in the state of New Jersey. 

"11-0, you would have never guessed that, would you?" He sounded so interested that she vowed to herself to bring Madame Bovary for him next time. 

"No. Never." She replied. 

"What gives? Oh, it didn't go so well with Danny?" Josh teased her, never realizing he'd guessed correctly. 

"OK, Josh. I gotta go now. I'll talk to you later." She got off the phone before having to hear that man's name again. 

At 3:30 PM, the dreaded name showed up in person at her office door. "Go away." She said looking back at her computer screen. 

"Look, CJ, I think we need to talk." He tried to enter the room but the tone of her voice stopped him. 

"That's exactly what got the whole mess started yesterday." She kept typing her notes as she talked, "I do not want to repeat that performance." 

"I understand that you are embarrassed, that's why I wanted to-" She cut him off. 

"WHAT?" She stood and crossed the small room in three strides. She pulled him inside, slammed the door and turned to him with her finger pointed. "I am not embarrassed. I had fun last night. But YOU, you did this for some reason. To make fun of me? To get me to tell you all my dark secrets for some column? So you could get a laugh with your buddies?" 

"CJ, what in the world are you talking about?" She gave him credit for being a good actor, he truly looked the part of a confused innocent. But it blew her fuse, or what was remaining of it. 

"OUT, OUT, OUT. Don't EVER come back here again. I have nothing to say to you except in the pressroom. OUT!" She opened the door, pushed him out it, and slammed it in his face. 

"Want to see the pictures of my new niece?" Carol asked him. 

CJ was on autopilot for the next three days. Working, meetings, briefings, going home very late and right to bed. Danny never came to her office, never even asked a question during a briefing, and she began to pretend that life was normal. But her anger turned into pity, than pain, than a desire to talk to him about the whole mess with her voice closer to a normal volume level. 

On Friday night she left work and drove through the dark streets at 10:45 PM. His house was a brown brick building divided into two floors. Danny had the top floor and she climbed the side steps and knocked. He opened the door and didn't hide his surprise at seeing her. His red hair was even messier than at work and he was wearing ragged, casual clothes. 

"Hey." He said. 

"I just, I wanted to...Um, can I come in?" 

"Sure." He stepped aside and she began to pass but tripped on the corner of the entry rug. He caught her fall by putting his arm around her. She straightened herself and looked up to Danny's twinkling eyes. She smiled, "When I'm nervous-" 

"You get clumsy, I know." He finished for her. "Can I get you something to drink?" 

"NO." CJ said a little louder than she had intended. He smiled in understanding and said, "kay." She sat on the couch and Danny turned the volume off the baseball game he was watching, then sat in the armchair. They both waited for the other to say something. CJ was thinking how sexy he looked. 

"Do you want me?" She blurted out. 

"Yes." Danny admitted and CJ's eyes shot to his. He didn't laugh at her. He didn't take her as a bumbling fool who could never handle men she was interested in with anything above a fourth grade level of intellect. 

"Yes." Danny said again, a little louder. "I wanted you all last year, I wanted you at the State Dinner, the week after the shooting, I wanted you the other night when I left, I want you now." He paused for nearly 15 seconds, "But I don't want you when it's just a drunken one-night stand that you'll regret." 

Things in CJ's head clicked into place. She had built up a huge conspiracy theory and then got angry and yelled at him when all he was trying to do was be considerate. The more she learned about him this week the more she wanted to be with him. It was exactly the opposite of what she thought would be the result of getting to know him better. Shouldn't that be her decision? Maybe Josh knew more than she gave him credit for, boy that was a terrifying thought. 

"When you left that night, I was angry. I thought...I don't know what I thought. I was hurt." She admitted. 

"CJ, the last thing I want to do is hurt you." He moved to the couch to sit next to her. "I'm not trying to ruin your career or force you to lose control of your life. I just want to be a part of it." 

'Here it goes, I'm taking the plunge Ladies and Gentleman.' She thought and took a deep breath. "There are things between us that I can't deny anymore. With everything that's happened, the shooting, Josh, I can't help thinking I shouldn't keep putting my life off until...until." She broke off and Danny took her in his arms. After a minute, she whispered, "I want a chance for us." 

"Ok." He soothed her with his hands on her back. When they both seemed to be recovered, CJ leaned back on the couch to look at him. 

She took a few deep breaths and said, "You understand it's going to be slow." 

"I know. CJ, I care about you, just keep reminding yourself that." 

"Explain this game to me, it makes no sense at all." She nodded toward the TV and he grabbed the remote to turn the volume up. It was a tape from earlier today that Danny had looked forward to watching tonight. But it was more fun making her laugh than paying close attention to the game. 

Two hours later, CJ was dozing off with her head resting on Danny's shoulder and his arm draped around her. The announcers were recapping the game statistics as the Mets got the final out at first. 

"CJ." He whispered into her ear and squeezed her slightly but got no response. He clicked off the TV, got her a blanket and a pillow, and helped her get comfortable on the couch, all without waking her. Then, he got into his own bed and forced himself to not think of her so nearby. 

CJ woke early on Saturday morning and slipped into Danny's bedroom. He looked so cute asleep she couldn't wake him. She wrote a quick note, put it on the bathroom sink and left his place. After stopping at home for a shower and to change into something more appropriate for the office than the tee shirt and tan shorts she'd worn to Danny's last night, she arrived in the West Wing by 9 AM. 

Danny woke up in an empty apartment. 'It was either a dream or she freaked out this morning when she woke up.' He contemplated. He went into the bathroom to wash his face and found a note on the sink in large swooping handwriting: 

"Danny-  
I had to get home and change before work.  
Visit my office, we'll schedule another "meeting" soon.  
-CJ" 

He smiled and whistled while he showered and dressed for the day. 

The President's chopper from the airport landed on the White House Lawn only 15 minutes behind schedule at 9:35 AM. CJ and Sam greeted Leo, Toby, the President and his wife in front of photographers and the group entered the Oval office talking at the same time. Abby Bartlet kissed her husband and excused herself. The President turned to his staff and began the meeting. 

"CJ, anything major going on with anyone from the press?" CJ turned six shades of red. "CJ?" The President raised his eyebrows at her. She knew he was only finding out if there were upcoming stories he should know about, but CJ found the situation more difficult than she had anticipated. 

"No, Sir." She managed to stumble out. Sam gave her a funny look, than added, "Josh is up walking the halls now, Sir." They all smiled at the good news and the President's relief was evident. 

"Okay, what's next?" He asked the room. Toby began rambling about some Senate committee and Leo asked Sam to meet with an environmental group on Monday. The meeting finished with the President returning to the residence to see Zoey. 

CJ walked back to her office through a rather empty bullpen. On Saturdays, the senior staff was always in the West Wing but only a few of the rest of the staff came in. CJ was reading a report Toby handed her during the staff meeting as she entered her office. Therefore, she didn't see Danny sitting in her chair, tapping at the side of Gail's bowl. 

"Hi, gorgeous." He greeted her. Her head flew up and she swung the door shut behind her. Not many staff where here but it would only take one listening to them. The embarrassment in the meeting a short time ago was also still on her mind. It wasn't that she wanted to take back what happened last night, it was just that maybe they needed some rules, some boundaries. He had gotten up and crossed the room to her. 

"You know, I've been thinking..." She started to say. Danny cut her off, "Don't do that." She frowned at him. 

"You don't want me to think?" She was beginning to wonder if he wanted a blonde-bimbo-Sam-style girl when Danny finished his thought. 

"Don't think to much about us. It's to early in this to do that." 

"But Danny, I really think that we need to be careful, I was just in a meeting and I-" 

He cut her off again, "CJ, I mean it. You over-analyze everything." His eyes settled on her lips. She sighed, it was difficult to concentrate when he looked at her like that. She took his hand and led him to the small couch in her office where they sat down. 

"I meant what I said last night. But, I'm concerned, that's all. I'm concerned about work and our reputations and it's just not easy to..." She couldn't find the words because she wasn't sure herself what she was feeling. She wanted to be with him, but it didn't seem like it was that simple. In the daylight there were a thousand other considerations she had forgotten about last night. 

"That is exactly what I'm saying." Danny said softly. "Don't think about it, don't over-analyze, you'll drive yourself crazy and ruin us before we even have a chance to get started. We said last night we're going to go slow, OK?" She looked up into his eyes. 

Danny expected CJ to have concerns, to get nervous about their having a relationship. He had concerns too, but CJ was less able to take a chance, less willing to put her job and reputation on the line, less able to jump into something without fully analyzing all possible consequences. He just hoped he knew how to handle it right. If he didn't this whole thing was going to crumble fast. He watched her think through what he'd just said. 

"Yeah, you're right." She said and he took a deep breath. 

"Good." 

"What did you come in here for?" 

"Because I didn't get to do this when I woke up." He leaned in and kissed her. 

The return of the President also meant the return of CJ's crazy schedule and long hours. The following week was complicated by Iraq firing shots at Saudi boarder patrolmen and the UN threatening to become involved if the conflict went any further. The stock market had steadily dropped each day and a DC-10 crashed on it's way to Houston from Miami killing all 426 on board. Her briefings were depressing. 

On Friday night, close to 11 PM, CJ sat at her desk. With her coat off, sleeves rolled up, shoes discarded to the corner of her office, her hair pulled back in a clip and her glasses on, she was reading boring UN reports. Danny appeared at the door. She hadn't seen him this week, except at her briefings. He pulled a grease-covered bag out from behind his back. 

"Tony's cheese steaks." He waved the bag back and forth. CJ hadn't eaten since noon, when she stuffed a muffin in her mouth at a meeting with Mrs. Bartlet and her staff about Christmas decorations in the White House. 

They sat on the floor and she spilled her bad day to him. It wasn't just planning Christmas decorations in the middle of June that bothered her. Sometimes she felt like a cruise director. When the rest of the senior staff where meeting with Middle East experts, her meeting picked a theme for this year's White House tree. It felt good to have him listen to her vent. 

"I got a master's degree just to suggest that real candles on dry evergreen probably wasn't the best idea." CJ joked while chewing. Danny could read her need to lighten things up. He told her how fast Santa's reindeer must travel in order to visit all the countries in one night. 

"You know, you're beginning to sound as nerdy as the President." She warned him. 

"Yeah, but I'm a lot cuter." He winked at her. 

"Yes you are." She smiled, "By the way, want to come over next Saturday? I'll cook." She offered. Danny finished chewing and was about to answer when there was a knock at the door. It swung open and Toby saw them, looked down at his shoes, and back to CJ's face. 

"Ah, CJ, there's a thing. We've got to..." He scratched at his forehead than waved a finger vaguely in a direction down the hall. 

"OK." She said and stood up. 

"Hey Danny." Toby acknowledged while he walked off with CJ following him. 

"Good to see you too, Toby." Danny shook his head and returned to the press area to prepare for CJ's eventual statement on whatever the "thing" was Toby interrupted them for. 

"What was that?" Toby asked her, after Leo briefed them on what was happening in the Sit. Room and they were walking back to his office. 

"What was what?" CJ asked distracted, reading a report by the Navy as she followed him down the hall. 

"You, Danny, your office..." Toby shrugged and didn't finish. 

"Yeah, Toby, it was a good thing you came in when you did." CJ looked up from the report, now forgotten, "Cuz you know, we were about to rip each other's clothes off and have passionate sex right there on my office floor. Good thing you stepped in just in time." CJ was getting angry, but the humor of what she'd just said not being completely out of the realm of possibilities didn't escape her. 

"I'm just saying, you shouldn't be..." Toby was rubbing at his forehead, his nervous habit, showing CJ he was incredibly uncomfortable with their conversation. 

"I shouldn't be what? I dare you to finish that statement. It was cheese steaks, Toby, I hadn't eaten for like a Millennium and I was hungry. So, I shouldn't what?" Sam had drifted in from somewhere to witness the argument. 

"Nothing. Forget it." Toby turned a back to her and picked up some files. "Here they are, Sam." CJ huffed and stormed from his office to hers, slammed her door, and threw herself onto her couch. She'd just defended her and Danny for the first time. She'd better get good at it, because it was about to happen all the time. 

The following Saturday morning, in the middle of the busy Washington Post newsroom, Danny thumped his pen on the edge of his desk. His mind was on CJ. It had been all week. She'd worn a long green skirt yesterday and matching blouse. Green was a great color on her and the skirt kind of clung to her in all the right places. He had a hard time focusing on the things she was saying in her briefings. 

Boy, would she kill him if she knew what was on his mind at the Thursday morning briefing when she explained the Republican's proposed Heath Care bill called "The Bedside Plan." He had been allowing himself to indulge in looking at her and thinking of her in ways he never would before the night she came over and asked for them to have a chance together. Since then he'd worn a permanent smile. They had been getting to know each other better this week and besides some stolen kisses, it was all very innocent. 

But tonight he was coming over to her place for dinner. This would be the first time he'd seen her place. Tonight was a big step but he just wasn't sure how big. Was she expecting him to stay the night? His desire for her was apparent by all the daydreaming he was doing. But at the same time, he was willing to wait a little longer. She was nervous about their relationship and they had decided to go slow so she wouldn't be scared off. Now she invites him over for dinner? The mixed signals were killing him. 

He wished, not for the first time in his life, that dating women came with a handbook. He would name it 'Know women as if you were one but really want to still be a guy so you can date them and....' Wait, that was too long. Anyway, you could look up something like 'Dinner at her place' and it would tell you what the woman would likely do and expect from you. Without this handbook, he had no idea what tonight was going to turn out like. Except that he was spending it with CJ and that meant it would be wonderful. 

His buddy, Kyle, a fellow reporter who covered the Hill, sat at his desk across the small aisle and looked up from his laptop to observe his friend. It wasn't just the annoying, nervous pen tapping. Danny's head was turned away from the wall of TV's tuned to news and weather stations. His eyes weren't on the assignment board or on his computer screen, or on any of the papers in haphazard stacks littering the surface in front of him. He was actually staring off into space. In five years, he'd never known Danny to daydream. 

Kyle smirked, "Danny, got a hot date tonight?" Danny's eyes shot to Kyle, he dropped his pen and in going to grab for it, knocked about 2 tons of papers off his desk. 

"Boy, I called it." Kyle was surprised at being able to rattle the normally unshakable Senior Correspondent Daniel Concannon. That meant his guess must have been dead-on. "Who is she?" 

Danny was really thrown and Kyle was chuckling at him now. 

"Kyle, I just," Danny shook his head, "I've got a lot on my mind." His tone was a little harsher than he should be to his friend. He packed up his laptop and stuffed some of the fallen papers into his case. "I got a briefing to get to." 

An hour later at the White House, CJ walked into the pressroom and up to the podium. Her comments where short and than she began fielding questions. Danny's hand shot up. 

"Danny." 

"Will the President bring any personal agenda to the up-coming U.N. meeting?" 

"At a U.N. meeting the President meets with other heads-of-state." 

"CJ." Danny's voice warned her not to take his question as silly. 

"Danny, he's attending, there's an agenda pre-determined by the Secretary of the U.N. and he will be discussing those issues like everyone else there." 

"And only those issues?" Danny demanded before she could call on someone else. CJ paused for the smallest part of a second before she lied. 

"Yes. Anyone else? Charlene." 

She left the room and Toby was waiting for her. 

"Any reason they're a little hostile today?" He asked while nodding his head toward the pressroom. 

"They just heard that I wasn't picked for the cover of the next SI swimsuit edition." 

"Judge Caufield's dead." 

"Thank God." 

"CJ." 

"What?" 

"The man's dead." 

"Yeah but he hated women, Toby. I am a woman, since you've never noticed. He supported, among other things, making it illegal for woman to go to college or have a job after having children. Are you getting this? He wanted me in jail. I'm saying he was like 324 years old and everyone thought his ideas were out-dated and I'm sorry for his family but I'm glad he's gone." 

"Do you feel better now?" Toby handed her some files. 

"Yes." 

"You shouldn't speak ill of the dead because then he'll come back to haunt you. According to my Grandmother." 

"Thank you for introducing that into my normal rotation of nightmares." She said as they arrived at her office. 

"Also, I did notice you are a woman. For the record, it was about 6 months ago." Leo knocked on the doorframe, interrupting them. 

"You happy about Caufield?" He asked CJ, smiling because he already knew her answer. 

"Ya think." CJ responded. 

"Please try to sound sorry about it in front of the press." 

"Yeah." 

"Also, I forgot to tell you before, you can let the U.N. thing out. The President wants this idea introduced well before hand so no one is shocked when it happens. Just leak it to a few of them this afternoon." 

"OK." 

The afternoon flew by for CJ. She'd spoken with Kenny from the Times and Jack from CNN about the President introducing his support for Russia's admission into the U.N. at the next meeting. She'd had calls from the EPA that were supposed to be for Sam and someone had overheard an apparently private conversation in which the President suggested what he'd like to do to the Fed chairmen. That took some twisting. Carol had one more person to call in about the U.N. thing. 

"Carol, I'm ready for Danny now." She yelled out her door, trying not to think about the unprofessional interpretations of that statement. 

CJ had purposely left Danny for last. Mostly out of nerves. She'd asked him spontaneously to come over for dinner tonight and then only later realized the implications of it. She wanted him. But now? Tonight? How did he feel? Ready? Rushed? She had promised him not to over-analyze and yet she couldn't help it. Maybe they could talk about it. 

"You wanted to see me." Danny entered her office. She got up and closed the door behind him. He took the opportunity to lean into her and with her back against the door, he kissed her on the mouth. Maybe it was the green skirt yesterday or the fact that they both were nervous about tonight, but the kiss escalated. Their tongues where dueling, her hands moved down his back, his hands where in her hair. After a few minutes they pulled back from each other to catch their breath. 

"That actually wasn't why I called you in here." She said in a ragged voice. 

"Can you even remember?" 

"I'm having a hard time remembering my name right now." 

"Claudia Jean." He whispered while touching his lips to her neck and then her chin. 

"Ummmm. Danny." 

"No, that's my name." Danny teased while planting more kisses on her cheek. "Try again." There was a knock near CJ's shoulder blade and they both jumped apart. Carol's voice came through the closed door. 

"CJ, you have staff in 5 minutes." CJ closed her eyes and took a deep breath. 

"OK, thanks Carol." 

"I'll see you tonight then?" Danny asked. She could detect a little tentativeness in his voice. 

"7 PM." She said, her heart still racing. He left and she walked down the hall feeling off-balance and muttering to herself, "Damn him when he does that to me." 

At 6:55 PM, CJ was dashing around her apartment. She had gotten home from the store an hour ago and started dinner. Then showered and changed from work clothes into a casual cotton sundress that came almost to her knees. She knew it would surprise him, he'd never seen this much of her skin before. She grinned as she thought of this while lighting candles and turning the stereo on. Somewhere in between the produce section and the cat food isle she'd decided not to be nervous about tonight, she was going to have fun and let happen whatever happens. After all, that interlude in her office today wasn't all bad. More of that same thing would be even better. 

Cleo dashed from her bedroom and sat down near the front door. That meant the cat could hear someone coming. CJ took a deep breath and smoothed her hair. There was a knock. 

"Hi." She said after swinging the door open for Danny. He entered and looked around the apartment but didn't take his coat off. He was thinking, 'How could she act so innocent about it?' 

CJ noticed he wasn't smiling or responding, "Something wrong?" 

"Maybe I should ask my question again Ms. Press Secretary. Will the President bring any personal agenda to the up-coming U.N. meeting?" Gears inside CJ's head clicked and her heart stopped as she realized what happened. 

"Oh, no. Danny, I didn't-" 

"You tossed my question aside as silly in the pressroom then leaked the answer to my colleagues, CJ, how could you do that?" 

"It wasn't like that-" 

"You weren't just unprofessional, it's more than that. You know, you've always worried about my using our relationship to get a story. You turn around and use me, how ironic." 

"I called you into my office to tell you. Then you started to kiss me and I couldn't even remember why I asked you to come-" 

"So this is somehow my fault?" Danny's voice was getting louder. 

"Yes, you do that Danny. You make me lose focus. I tried to tell you two weeks ago we needed boundaries at work. I tried to tell you that this very thing was the reason I was nervous about our having a relationship but you wouldn't listen." Her voice was matching his in level and intensity now. "You told me not to think. Do you want some bimbo without a brain? Because you wouldn't be the first to walk away from me for that very reason." 

"Wow, that was awfully easy for you, 'Just go away Danny. It's all your fault Danny.'" He imitated her voice then shook his head and continued, "My worst fear come true. You wanted to have some fun with me and then when it gets too difficult or you are just tired of me, you say, 'You don't want me because I have a brain or because of work or because....' His face was turning red and he continued, "CJ, if your gonna use me and toss me aside, just do it now 'cuz I knew I would be the only one who got hurt."  
His voice fell from anger to sadness, "You have never let anyone in before, have you? Just toss them aside before they have that chance." 

"STOP IT." She yelled out, "JUST STOP IT." 

"No, I won't. It's true. You don't want to lose control because you don't want to get hurt. But how is it OK to hurt me, CJ? How do you justify that to yourself?" 

"It's not like that Danny. It's not." They stood facing each other. Danny still wore his coat and his face was hot with anger and pain. CJ's eyes were red-rimmed and she was shaking. 

Finally she spoke, now in a more normal tone. "I did not do it on purpose. Leo told me AFTER the briefing that I was allowed to tell anyone. You were one of three but before I could I got...a little sidetracked." She looked down at her hands shaking. "Then when Carol almost caught us, talk about worst fears, if people at work found out after I've been specifically told not to-" She caught herself. 

"You've been told not to date member of the press?" 

"Not to date you." She corrected. His eyes grew wide in dis-belief. 

"Why?" 

"Please." She sighed. "I am sorry, Danny, I never wanted to hurt you. It's not a fling, just to toss you aside when I'm done, it's more than that to me. If you don't trust me than...than maybe you should leave." She started shaking even more than before. 

"If you do," Her voice had dropped to just above a whisper now, "it will hurt me. And you will be the one hurting me, will that make you feel better?" She asked him. 

'Wait till he leaves, than I can cry,' She told herself, unwilling to lose it in front of him. 

"No." His voice was ragged. "I don't want to hurt you." 

"Can we just sit? For a little?" 

They walked to the couch and sat down. The music from her stereo played low in the background and they both took long cleansing breaths for several minutes. Finally, he squeezed her hand and she looked up at him. 

"I am sorry too. Maybe you are right that we need to have boundaries at work. I just like coming in and stealing kisses so much that I didn't want to stop." He said and she nodded. 

"Some of what you said is true, maybe I've learned to keep men at a distance. But I don't want to do that with you." She said. "I like that you make me melt, just not when I'm supposed to be focused." 

"You sure you want me to stick around, if you needed time..." He was giving her a way out, now that the argument had passed. 

"No, actually, I really would like you to stay a while." 

"Good." He said, "I meant to ask you, exactly how devastated are you over Caulfield's death?" 

"Oh, traumatized." She teased back. Danny took off his coat and looked around her apartment. They talked about her paintings on the walls, the pictures of her family framed and displayed on the bookshelf. Then she asked, "Are you hungry?" 

They spent the evening eating and joking. By midnight, CJ was looking pretty haggard but in better spirits. 

"CJ, I said things I didn't mean." 

"Yeah, I know. Me too. I am sorry." He gave her a light kiss goodnight and left. CJ collapsed into bed. Part of her still felt like crying because tonight had been a huge disappointment. She hurt him without meaning too. He hurt her with the things he'd said, and then he'd almost left her. They were angry with each other but they also didn't let it get too far. It was a good sign that in the middle of the whole mess they both cared enough not to let an argument pull them completely apart. 

The following week they both tried to make it up to each other. CJ left a copy of "When Harry met Sally" on his desk on Monday. On Tuesday, she found and a tape of him attempting to sing "I've Got You Babe" in her car. A postcard arrived in the mail on Wednesday for him with only on a heart drawn on the back. A delicate gold bracelet was hidden in her top desk drawer on Thursday morning. On Friday, he stopped by after work and brought food and wine and they watched the movie together. CJ put the bracelet on and never took it of. 

The next few weeks they visited Josh in the hospital and went to movies or to dinner straight from work or spent time hanging out at home together. The time alone was precious and sweet. They were always careful and so far, no one had seemed to notice or care they were together. 

One Friday evening in September, CJ left work early and was in her bedroom at home. A black tank top, a low cut green dress, two pairs of shoes, a flowered skirt, a white blouse, a teal cotton shirt and a pair of tan shorts were all scattered across her bed. In the mirror, she was examining the outfit she was currently wearing, a spaghetti strap cranberry silk shirt, a gray cotton skirt and black strappy sandals. She wasn't sure how dressed up or down she was supposed to be, Danny had been very mysterious about tonight. This was the first time in the six weeks together he was coming over to pick CJ up to take her somewhere, so it felt more like a first date. The last time she felt this way or engaged in clothes fretting was sometime in high school. 

She tried convincing herself it was because she didn't know where they were going tonight, because of the unseasonable 80 degree weather that had everyone happy this week, because things at work had gone so well lately. But she knew it wasn't any of these things. She was falling in love. It was so easy. He was fun and playful and they had the same sense of humor. His touch was gentle and at the same time set her on fire. In fact, it was getting more and more difficult to leave him and sleep alone after they'd spent time together. At one time she was nervous and unsure about taking things to the next step with him. Now, there was no doubt. 

Danny stopped at a corner florist on his way to CJ's. He'd never bought her flowers before and felt it was long overdue. The last six weeks, he lived to see her smile or hear her laugh or tease her and get the same in return. Touching her was driving him crazy. Never before had he experienced such passion-filled dreams at night. It was taking all his strength to pay attention to her voice not her body during briefings. He wanted to take things further. Her kisses where so full of fire and promise that he thought she might also be ready. 

He had talked to his Mom yesterday on the phone and called CJ 'his girlfriend' for the first time. It felt good. He whistled as he entered the shop. Roses, carnations, nothing he saw seemed right. Then he noticed a bunch of white daises with baby's breath. It was perfect. Just like her, it caught his eye among all the other flowers to choose from. 

CJ piled all her curled hair on the top of her head and put hairpins in it. She was applying make-up when Danny knocked at the door. 

"Hello, Beautiful." He greeted her and kissed her cheek. Then presented the flowers. 

"Thank you." She gave him a smile and disappeared into the kitchen to find a vase. 

"Are you almost ready?" He asked while giving the purring Cleo some attention. 

They left her apartment and Danny drove quite a distance. When they arrived at their destination, he got out and held the door for her. A valet took his keys and Danny held her hand as they walked inside the restaurant. The building was made of worn, gray boards and was situated right on the water. They were led to the back and out the back door. Outside, a small deck had been built over the water and the waves broke on pillions beneath their feet. It was a warm night, the sun was setting and the sky was pink and orange and mixed with the blue of the ocean. After the waiter presented their menus and left them alone, CJ commented on them being alone on the deck. 

"It's such a great night, I wonder why no one else wanted to sit out here." Danny tried hiding his smile, he asked, "Do you like it?" 

"Yes. It's wonderful." She glowed with happiness. They ordered crab and shrimp, salads and a bottle of wine and took their time eating the meal. It was delicious. They talked about Josh's slow improvements and the sunset. He teased her about showing too much leg. 

"Hey, that's not fair. It's all I'm made of." She threw back at him. 

"Yeah, believe me, I've noticed. I just don't want anyone else to." She raised an eyebrow at him. "Those legs are MINE babe." He gave her two thumbs up and she laughed out loud. 

"It is so strange that no one else is out here, it's so beautiful." She looked out across the water when it suddenly made sense. 

"You set this up." She said as she turned and pinned him with her eyes. "Did you pay them for the whole deck?" She knew she'd caught him. He only smiled as a response and took the last sip of his wine. CJ watched his twinkling eyes, his hair and beard were trimmed and his clothes weren't wrinkled tonight. He had gone out of his way to make this special for her. She was thinking it, and somehow, it just popped out of her mouth before she knew it. 

"I love you." 

It was so clearly the truth, so plain in her eyes that there was no doubt she meant it. He took her hand and brought it to his lips. 

"I was going to tell you tonight." He kissed her hand, "Thanks for scooping me, CJ." 

The waiter hovered nearby and Danny motioned for him. "Could we take our dessert home please?" 

They went back to his place. Once inside, he put his arms around her, "CJ, I love you, too. I think I have for a long time now." He spoke softly and kissed her cheek. She moved her hands up his arms and into his hair, then pulled him closer to kiss his lips. 

"Danny, I want you tonight." 

"Ummhumm." He replied while keeping his lips on her. She unbuttoned his shirt while tugging him toward the bedroom. 

They rolled around on his bed, undressing and giggling and kissing. It was frantic at first after all the tension that had built between them. Then they slowed and enjoyed discovering each other in new ways. As new lovers they spent most of the night exploring and coming together, never feeling tired. Well into the night, CJ dozed off in his arms. Danny felt alive and happy and in love, he squeezed the naked body intertwined with his and closed his eyes to dream. 

In the weeks following 'the big date' CJ found that her early concern about their relationship was now non-existent. Spending nights together a few times a week was enough for her to be able to concentrate when she was at work. He also found that by living his fantasies at night, he could focus during the day on other things more easily. Plus, CJ was getting good at being able to tell when his mind was wondering the wrong way during briefings. Once, she called on him when he didn't have a hand up, interrupting his improper thoughts and making him scramble to come up with a question. 

After three months together, Danny and CJ were having dinner at Harpoon's, it was becoming a favorite because it was close to work, secluded, and served good food. He was telling her about when he was 7, chasing squirrels with his brother in the field near his house. He had tripped on a tree root, broken his ankle and spent two weeks home from school that September. 

"The one bad part was-" Danny was interrupted in the middle of the story. 

"Hey!" Mallory, Leo's daughter, spotted them and came up to the table. "How's it going, CJ?" She asked. 

"Fine. Mallory, you remember Danny Concannon, one of the White House reporters?" CJ introduced them trying to act natural and unaffected. 

"Oh, yes. I remember now, I knew you looked familiar." She smiled and shook his hand. 

"Join us?" Danny offered. CJ's eyes flared, she knew he was only being polite but it went beyond being evil to her. 

"Mallory's probably here with someone else. We wouldn't want to bore her with complaints about her father's tyranny." CJ said and smiled at Mallory, trying to appear as normal as possible. She really wanted to kick Danny and push Mallory far away from them. 

"Yeah, I'm on a date. But thanks for the offer. As for the complaints, I probably share them with you, CJ." She finished with a laugh and waved as she left them alone. CJ put her forehead on the wood table and knocked her head against it a few times for punishment. 

After the meal, Danny returned with CJ to her apartment. When they entered, he pulled her into his arms and began to kiss her neck. He loved her long, graceful neck and he had learned it was a particularly sensitive area of her body. She sighed, unbuttoned his jacket and took it off. She took hers off too and put them both over the chair in her entry. She locked the door and flipped the light switch. It turned on two lamps in the living room and track lighting over the counter dividing it from the kitchen. 

Danny stood in the same spot and watched her walk into the room and push the start button on her answering machine. He rolled his eyes to heaven. Here he was seducing her and she was so distracted with something on her mind, she forgot he was even in the room. 'The things I put up with to be with this woman...' He directed his thought to the sky. 

"CJ." He said as a message from her sister played in the background. She turned to him as if surprised. "Remember me?" He asked. 

"Danny, I guess I'm just. I'm... Seeing Mallory threw me tonight, that's all." She admitted while studying her shoes. 

"...and I can't wait to meet this 'adorable' man you're seeing when I visit next month. I'll bet he's not that sexy and funny, CJ, you've never been able to pick them very well. We'll just see. Later." CJ's sister finished in the background and the machine beeped and stopped. Danny raised his eyebrow at her. She smiled. 

"Adorable? Sexy? The funny part I believe." Danny said with some humor in his voice. She'd never called him sexy or adorable to his face. 'Wow, she really thought those things!' He was mentally high-fiving himself. 

"I've got to stop telling my sister things, she has a very big mouth." CJ walked over to him. "You are sexy. You are very adorable. Not always that funny, but you try." She teased him as she put her arms around his neck. 

"You OK?" He asked. 

"Yeah, I'm just going to have to deal with some stuff at the staff meeting on Monday morning." He pulled her to him and held tight. Seeing Mallory meant her biggest concern was about to happen, dealing with their relationship at work and possibly in front of the nation. He knew he had to be reassuring. 

"Whatever they say to you, remember how adorable I am." He said. But she wasn't in the mood to laugh. She put her head on his shoulder and sighed for the fourth time in 3 minutes. 

"Danny, could you just hold me tonight?" She asked in a small voice. He squeezed her once and kissed her forehead. 

"Sure, come on." He switched off the lights and kept his arm around her as they walked to her room. 

Late Sunday night, while she and Danny were both working on their respective laptops in her living room, she got a phone call from Donna. She told CJ that Josh was going to be released from the hospital in the morning, the staff was meeting there at 7:30 AM. CJ hung up to Danny looking at her with interest. 

"A matter of national security?" He asked her. "Cuz I could start writing right now." 

"I'm not telling" She stuck her tongue out to complete the effect. 

"Ohh, is that an invitation?" 

She ignored his innuendo, "Josh is being released in the morning, I'll be in the pressroom by 10 to tell you all about it." She explained. 

Monday morning turned out to be more joyous than CJ could have imagined. Josh was beaming as Toby wheeled him outside and he and Sam helped get Josh into the car. Donna was running around like a worried mother. The President and Leo had slipped out the back door of the White House in an unmarked car and now stood off to the side. CJ carried Josh's bag and put it into the trunk. Sam and Donna were going to get him settled in his apartment and come into the office later. 

"So, CJ. I had breakfast with my daughter this morning. She was telling me about her date Friday night. Did you have a date Friday night too?" Leo asked causally, a smile flirting on his lips. "You don't have to answer, it's really not any of my business." Leo said. 

"Are you dating someone we know?" Toby asked her pointedly. CJ could feel her heart rate increase and her stomach turn into itself. This was like facing a firing squad. 

The President saved her, "Guys, it's time we got back now I think." He turned to the Secret Service waiting and signaled to open the car door. The President, Leo and Toby climbed in and the engine started. CJ stood staring at them as if aliens had jut landed in her front lawn. She pulled her keys out of her coat pocket and walked to her car. 

Four days passed without any follow-up to what happened on Monday morning. CJ began to think Leo was going to let it drop at that. He wanted her to know he knew, but apparently was going to keep it to himself. At least for now. 

On Friday morning the President gathered his staff into the Oval Office. He even had Josh on the speakerphone. The FBI director was giving him the final briefing on the investigation into the shooting and he wanted to give all his staff some closure. As the director finished up his report, the President dismissed everyone but asked CJ to stay behind. 

"Don't think I don't realize what all of you give up to work for me. Your homes, money, personal time and almost your lives, it scares me." 

"I know, Sir." 

"Please don't give up every good thing in your life on account of me." The President sighed. "I don't suppose I need to say it, but just in case, I think Danny is a good man. He may not be who I would choose for you, but," he shook his head, "I stood up for Leo's choices and for Sam's choices and if necessary, I will for you too. He's a good man." CJ's heart was pounding but she couldn't hold back a small smile. 

"Thank you." 

"And so help me God if he ever hurts you, well, I am the Commander-in-Chief of the most powerful army in the world. I could fly a Navy plane over his house, you know, as a warning?" 

"Thanks for the offer, Sir, but I don't think that's necessary." 

"Okay." 

"Thank you, Mr. President." 

CJ left the Oval Office and traveled the halls of the West Wing with her smile still gleaming across her face. She was heading to the Press area when Danny intercepted her. 

"Hey there, Smiles." Danny greeted her. 

"I have an exclusive." 

"Oh, yea?" 

"Yep, CJ Cregg just received a full Presidential Pardon." 

"For-?" He asked. CJ met his eyes. "Oh." Danny said as he got it. 

"We should celebrate." She suggested. 

"Yeah." They came to where the hall splits, her office to the left and the pressroom to the right. "Tonight, my place." He whispered under his breath as they parted ways. 

"Tonight." CJ said to herself as she entered her office. 

The End. 

*****  
When the rain is blowing in your face  
And the whole world is on your case  
I could offer you a warm embrace  
To make you feel my love  
When the evening shadows and the stars appear  
And there is no one there to dry your tears  
I could hold you for a million years  
To make you feel my love  
I know you haven't made your mind up yet  
But I would never do you wrong  
I've known it from the moment that we met  
No doubt in my mind where you belong...  
I could make you happy, make your dreams come true  
Nothing I wouldn't do  
Go to the ends of the earth for you  
To make you feel my love.  
-Bob Dylan  
*****  
Author's notes: I have two beliefs about CJ. One, she is not with Danny for more important reasons than just work. She is not the type of person to let others make decisions for her, particularly when it comes to relationships. Two, if CJ ever made a definitive decision about someone she wanted in her life, the staff all love her like family and want her to be happy that they would support her even if it were not the best person she could have chosen. It's not like others have made worse decisions. (Ah, um, Mr. Seaborn.) So, based on that, I have started this series. I have an idea of where it's going but if you want to pass a suggestion along, please send me e-mail. Thanks for reading and stay tuned for part II of the chronicles, coming soon. -Jen

  


End file.
